Chrysler Canada November sales close in on leader Ford

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

A Chrysler auto worker is seen working on a partially assembled Chrysler minivan on the assembly line during the production launch of the new 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan's and Chrysler Town & Country minivans at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario January 18, 2011. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

TORONTO (Reuters) - Chrysler Canada (FCAU.N) gained on Ford Motor Inc’s (F.N) Canadian unit for the second month in a row in November, pulling within 920 vehicles of the sales leader.

The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles unit’s sales rose 9 percent from a year earlier to 20,922 cars and trucks, capping five full years of monthly sales gains.

“Given that December is traditionally a ‘slow’ month for the automotive market, we would expect Ford to maintain their advantage at year-end - although stranger things have happened in December sales figures,” DesRosiers Automotive Consultants said in a note to clients.

DesRosiers said Canadian light vehicles sales rose 4 percent to 138,694 in November.

The news came as the top six automakers reported better than expected U.S. November sales, helped by generous discounts and low fuel prices.

At Chrysler, Jeep brand sales jumped 44 percent from a year earlier, to 5,887 units, and the company sold 6,699 Ram Pickups, up from 5,626 a year earlier.

At GM Canada, Buick sales jumped 15 percent and Cadillac recorded its best November sales since 1980, boosted by the ATS sedan and Escalade.

Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T) Canadian sales fell 4 percent, but the company said it has already set a new full-year record for truck sales, boosted by the RAV4 sport utility vehicle. Truck sales rose 8 percent to 6,823.

Honda Canada’s combined Honda-Acura sales rose 6 percent to a November record of 14,544 vehicles and the company said the Honda Civic remains the best-selling car in Canada.